Avijit Banerjee

Overview

Dr. Avijit Banerjee is currently a Senior Lecturer and WASP-AI/MLX Fellow with the Robotics and AI Group at Luleå University of Technology (LTU), Sweden. His research focuses on autonomy for robotc system including, multi-robot coordination, tassk and motion planning, multi-sensor fusion, autonomous navigation, and space robotic systems, with expertise in applied optimal and nonlinear control theory, extending to learning based approaches.

Professional Experience:

• Senior Lecturer, WASP-AI/MLX Fellow, RAI, LTU, Sweden, 2025-Present
• Associate Senior Lecturer, RAI, LTU, Sweden, 2024-2025
• Researcher, RAI, LTU, Sweden, 2022-2024
• Post-Doctoral Researcher, RAI, LTU, Sweden, 2020-2022

Education

• PhD, Aerospace Engineering, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, India.
  Advanced Guidance and Autopilot Design for Autonomous Lunar Soft-Landing
• Master of Engineering, Control System Engineering, Jadavpur University, Kolkata, India.
• Bachelor of Technology, Electronics & Instrumentation Engineering, Heritage Institute of
  Technology, Kolkata, India.

Sucessful Research Grants

• ANSWER - Autonomous Navigation System for Exploration Rovers, Funded by Rymdstyrelsen Swedish National Space Agency (SNSA), Role: Participating co-applicant and Researcher, Project Status: Ongoing
• AUTONOMIC - Autonomous Robots for a Green and Sustainable Nordic Region, Funded by Interreg Aurora, Role: Participated in proposal writing
• OPTACOM - Optimized and Autonomous Constellation Orbit Management, Funded by European Space Agency (ESA), Role: Participating co-applicant and Researcher, Project Status: Ongoing
• LTU Labbfond - Equipment for Establishment of Space Robotics Lab for The subject Robotics and Artificial Intelligence, Funded by Kempestiftelserna Labfund Research Grant
• PERSEPHONE - Autonomous Mine Exploration and Extraction of Deep Mineral Deposits, Funded by European Union,  Role: Participated in proposal writing

Research Projects Participated

• NRFP - Small Body Navigation, Funded by OHB Sweden, Status: Completed
• Lunar Soft-Landing - Integrated guidance and control of a lunar module for optimal soft-landing, Space technology cell, Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO/STC), Status: Completed
• Autonomous Aerospace Vehicles - Guidance of Autonomous Aerospace Vehicles for Vertical Soft Landing using Nonlinear Control Theory, Air Force Research Laboratory,  AFRL/AFOSR/IOA(AOARD), Status: Completed

Teaching

• R7030R: Spacecraft Guidance, Navigation and Control, 7,5 credits, Master's level, Instructor
• R0006E: Robotics for all, 7.5 credits, Beginner's Course, First Cycle, Instructor
• R7017E: Biorobotics, 7.5 credits, Advanced Course, Instructor

PhD Supervision

• Nektarios Tafanidis, Co-Supervisor, Learning based Control for large scale satellite constellation
• Marios-Nektarios Stamatopoulos, Co-Supervisor, Cooperative aerial additive manufacturing
  using multiple UAVs

Masters Theses Supervision

Persuing

• Donald Låås, Autonomous docking of spacecraft using
• Agnes, Traversability aware Path-planning on simuated lunar environment
• Glim Lindaregård, Motion planning of satellite emulation platfrom under thruster faliure

Graduated

• Kevin Andersson, Autonomous Intelligent Lunar Exploration: A Reinforcement Learning-based Approach for Traversability-aware Safe Terrain Navigation, 2025, PDF External link.
• Roger Le Fort Ndayambaje, Learning-based resilient maneuver planning for initialization of a large-scale constellation, 2025, PDF External link.
• Noah Otte, Developing a Novel Path Planning Algorithm for an Autonomous Experimental Rover Platform, 2024, PDF External link.
• Dharshana Athauda, Motion Planning Scheme for Collision Free Autonomous Target Acquisition of Mobile Spacecraft Platform Using Reinforcement Learning, 2022, URN:urn:nbn:se:ltu:diva-101378 External link.
• Vignesh Kottayam Viswanathan, Cooperative Navigation in Space in-proximity of Small Bodies, 2021, PDF External link.

Fellowships & Accolades

• WASP-AI/MLX Fellow, 2025
• Pioneering Contribution to Indian Lunar Exploration Journey, contributed to the development of the terminal descent guidance for autonomous soft-landing, considered implemented in the recent Chandrayaan-3 Mission, LTU News,External link. External link.TV4 News ReportExternal link. External link.The LocalExternal link. External link.P4 NorrbottenExternal link. External link.
• MHRD Fellowship of Ministry of Human Resource Development, Government of India, as a PhD research scholar in Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, 2013 - 2019
• MHRD Fellowship of Ministry of Human Resource Development, Government of India, as a ME student in Jadavpur University, Kolkata, 2011-2013
• All India Rank - 121, in Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineering (GATE) 2012
• Young investigator best paper & presentation award in International conference on Electrical, Electronics Engineering, Bhopal October 2012
• Best Reviewer Award for AIAA Journal of Guidance Control Decission for the year of 2024

Google ScholarExternal link. External link.